Knicks Among 8 N.B.A. Teams Allowed to Create Home City Bubbles

The eight N.B.A. teams that did not qualify for the season’s restart at Walt Disney World in Florida can create bubbles and hold voluntary group workouts at their team facilities beginning in mid-September, the league and its players’ union announced on Tuesday.

The provision applies to teams like the Knicks and the Golden State Warriors, who were no longer in contention for the playoffs when the N.B.A. suspended its season on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league resumed play in July with 22 teams in an isolated campus at Disney World near Orlando, Fla., that has thus far not yielded any positive coronavirus tests after players and staff left quarantine.

The announcement by the league is an indication that the N.B.A. has faith in its approach and feels comfortable expanding it, even as the pandemic continues to affect lives daily in the United States. Like the Florida restart, this plan would be implemented in phases, including a quarantine period before workouts. It would require players and staff to stay “in a campuslike environment under controlled conditions,” according to the statement released by the N.B.A., and to undergo daily testing for the coronavirus.

The eight teams affected are the Knicks, Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and the Charlotte Hornets. The league said that all eight teams could also invite up to five players who currently are not signed to a league contract but were assigned to the team’s G League affiliate.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/sports/basketball/nba-knicks-bubble.html